


Hidden Patterns

by DryzleSS



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Based on the DeeperDown Comic by Zeragii, Character Analysis, One Shot, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 14:25:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15121367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DryzleSS/pseuds/DryzleSS
Summary: Muffet has always been exceedingly perceptive. She was cunning after all, and being cunning meant being able to read the mannerisms of everyone she met, with the hope of getting more sales. She could tell a lot about a monster by their voice, their walk, the way their eyes moved to take in the world...Maybe that was why Sans always seemed so determined to stay out of her reach.(Based off of a scene from the Undertale Fancomic "DeeperDown" by Zeragii)





	Hidden Patterns

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zeragii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeragii/gifts).



> I am so excited! I just joined AO3 so that I could write stories based on the DeeperDown comic by Zeragii! It really is a great read, with angst, and fluff, and adventure, and drama! I was inspired, but since I suck at art, I figured I'd give writing a try. I found out that Zeragii actually loves and COLLECTS the works, both art and writing-related, that people make of her comic, and I was so excited to see that she not only liked fan works based on HER fanwork, but encourages it! So, here's my go at it. I'll be writing lots of little things like this, but this will do as a start. Enjoy!
> 
> Here's the comic if you want to read it!  
> Here: http://gettingdeeperdownwithundertale.blogspot.com/p/deeperdown.html  
> Or here: https://www.deviantart.com/zeragii/gallery/59842505/DeeperDown-Undertale-Comic

  The surface had proven itself to be all they had hoped for. Sunny skies, endless land, trees, grass, and a world filled with living things. It was beyond anything they had ever imagined, and there was no disappointment involved. Other than, perhaps, the fact that humanity was trying to put their dreams to a crushing end. 

  Humans were a...fidgety lot. Easily startled by what they did not understand, and just as easily hateful of it. That was why they were stuck out here in the wilderness of Ebott's countryside, rather than enjoying the more homey comforts of the city. Not that Muffet was complaining. Oh, no, not complaining in the least. She preferred the outdoors anyway, savoring the freedom they had finally gained, but there was still something to be said for pride.

  And there was no pride in being treated like animals; like things to be tamed and 'dealt with'. Humans had to play by their rules, of course. When didn't they? Representatives came and went at ungodly hours, without a care as to whether they were wanted. Distasteful. 

  That was what was happening tonight, wasn't it? Some meeting of sorts?

  Crouching lightly on the branch of her chosen perch, Muffet sent a venomous gaze in the direction of the furthest campfire. Around it, she knew _they_ were talking; the chosen few. The king, his ex-wife, the fishy captain, and the two skeletons who always accompanied the human child, like bookends keeping her safe from a fall. It was a sweet gesture, that she knew. She herself was fond of the little human that had saved them all.

  Somewhere, around that fire, a representative from the city was sure to be standing. Or sitting. More likely standing; they always stood. Ready to flee, lest monsters turn out to be all they feared. He...or she, was most likely making demands. Quoting predictions and rules that monsterkind would do better not to follow and suffer the consequences. Muffet had made a living off of charging too much. She knew a deal when she saw one, and this was not. The cost of freedom had been expensive enough.

  They were due for a discount.

  Muffet sighed, rubbing one of her many hands along the side of her face. It was getting late, and it had been a rather uneventful day of waiting around, hoping for humanity to stop being the fools they were proving to be. While worry was common, even now for her, there was no sense in losing a good night's rest over the whole thing.

  Giving in to her body's need for sleep, Muffet settled into her self-made hammock with ease, her multiple long legs and arms keeping her balance with perfect ease. Even within the confines of a tree, she was at home, though at times she missed the seclusion of her tunnels. The material of the hammock was soft and silky against her bare arms, and she hummed with satisfaction. It wasn't the high quality comfort she would have preferred, like that which she and her spiders had made in the Underground, but the awe-filled atmosphere of the surface more than made up for it. The skies above were clear and studded with stars; little jewels that twinkled and sparkled like a young one's magic. A gentle breeze, calm and cool, passed over the hills and down into the valleys, brushing past the monster encampment like delicate fingers over lace.

  It was not long after nightfall, and the sky to the far west was still awash with a watercolor of gentle orange and fading yellow. Dinner had already been made, served, and eaten, mostly courtesy of Grillby the fire monster, and the young ones had been gathered up and corralled toward the monitored tents where they would be lovingly watched while they slept. Some of the older monsters sat around the various campfires scattered throughout the encampment, beacons of red and gold amidst a sea of blues and blacks. They were talking, lowly, laughs and grumbles mixing into a pleasant backdrop. She thought she saw a bit of blue magic, a glowing hue that pulsed in the direction of the meeting, but it soon petered out so she ignored it.

  Muffet held out her hand, fingers loose and inviting. A small spider, one of her many, let itself down from the higher branches of the tree she had chosen, landing daintily in her palm like an angel from on high. It tickled and nuzzled, speaking in whispers only she could understand. Somewhere else in the camp, her other spiderlings were nesting, mingling with the other, less sentient insects of the surface. Her pet was safe, somewhere where it would not disturb anyone, but could also enjoy the night air. It would need to be fed in the morning...but that was a task for then. Now, there was only the need for rest.

  "Mm, good night, dearie," she murmured to the legged creature in her palm. "Try not to move about too much. You know how I hate to wake and not be able to find you."

  It blinked up at her with its many eyes, perched there, filled with unwavering trust. The creatures were a comfort to her; of her kind, and yet not. She was their leader, their employee, was she not? And yet, she was more.

  The larger spider monster relaxed, nestling further into the hammock and setting the little fellow gently on her stomach with her hand carefully placed on top. That way it would be protected, against wind or rain should it come. It had been only a few weeks since their release, but Muffet liked to think that she was learning the patterns of the earth above as well as she had ever learned the patterns of her customers. There would be no rain tonight. She could not be certain for later, perhaps the nest evening, but for now she could rest at ease without fearing being drenched by the surfaces questionable weather.

  She cooed to the spider one final time, then closed her eyes, allowing the wind to rock her to sleep.

  However, just as she was about to truly fall into slumber, she heard a sound, faint and distant, but growing ever nearer. Having chosen a rather out-of-the-way place to call her own, Muffet was rather surprised when the sound became discernible as footsteps. Light, shuffling steps that sounded as though the walker were dragging their feet, just a bit. It seemed as though they were wearing a kind of footwear, the shoes shifting softly against the dew-ridden grass.

  Curious, Muffet sat up carefully, mindful of her friend in her hand and bracing her weight by reaching out and steadying herself against the main stem of the tree. She had excellent vision, something she shared with nearly all her monster brethren. There was something about being forced to live underground that had enhanced that trait for all of those born after monsterkind's banishment. Even then, it was several seconds before she was able to identify the slowly approaching figure through the half-light.

  It was one of the skeletons. The smaller one. Sans? Yes. That was his name. A funny little dear who always seemed to be taking life one step at a time. He was always smiling, always joking those little plays on words, and he was the more frequent of the two brothers to visit her stands. Sans had bought a spider doughnut or two, though she couldn't recall whether he had paid the proper amount. He had a rather annoying habit of talking circles around many of her spiders, so that they became too distracted by his puns and funny stories to know whether he had walked away with or without paying. When Muffet had decided to check the matter out herself, Sans had suddenly stopped his visits, as though he had known she would be looking into it. That might have made her mad, had not Papyrus, the younger brother, not come by a few days later with a fistful of coins and a slew of apologies for his brother's 'troublesome behavior'.

  And this was the younger brother? Muffet would have expected the older to be the more responsible one.

  That was probably the extent of Muffet' interaction with the brothers. They had lived in Snowdin, a place that Muffet would never have visited, no matter the prospective pay. Her body would never have been able to handle that kind of chill, and it baffled her how anyone could. Regardless, she had known more about them through theories and gossip rather than actual acquaintance, and even that was limited. They had simply shown up one day in Snowdin, out of nowhere; asserted themselves and made a home among the small, wintry town. She knew they were both sentries, Papyrus far more active in that duty than Sans.

  That was the extent of her knowledge.

  So to see one of the mysterious brothers, and the even more mysterious one at that, Muffet felt her curiosity grow. She stayed silent...she stayed still...and she watched.

  
  The skeleton looked deep in thought, his mind focused more on something only he could see than the actual world around him, which was odd. Most other monsters could hardly get enough of the surface, soaking it in. How was it that he could dismiss it so easily? Mm. He was small among the towering tents, and even smaller now that he was a figure stuck amidst the canvas of an entire, open world. Compared to most monsters, he was of the lower end of average, and while his puffy coat painted a picture of chub beneath, Muffet knew that in reality he was nothing but bones. Next to humans, they had come to find, he was little more than the size of a child.

  Like the spider resting softly against Muffet's chest, this skeleton was nearly lost in his surroundings. And yet, he walked with confidence, a lazy but pointed gait, his sockets fixed ahead toward yet another branch of the encampment., unassuming and perfectly ordinary in most respects. But...then again...

  Muffet has always been exceedingly perceptive. She was cunning after all, and being cunning meant being able to read the mannerisms of everyone she met, with the hope of getting more sales. She could tell a lot about a monster by their voice, their walk, the way their eyes moved as they took in the world...Maybe that was why Sans always seemed so determined to stay out of her reach. Because right now, as the skeleton monster made his way across the grass below, halfway between her tree and the tents, Muffet couldn't help reading in on a particular range of observations.

  For one, his walk. It was aimless, and yet it was directed. Like someone knowing where he had to go, but wishing he could divert in any other direction. It was the same pattern of steps that Muffet had seen many times before, with individuals who wished to cross by her territory, but had some silly notion that she'd have them for breakfast. Not that she would deny such a thing. Small monsters were a little like flies, one could never be too certain of her moods after all. But this monster, Sans, he hardly seemed like one to be afraid of something as silly as that. So the question remained; just what was he afraid of? And why was he taking the long way around to the far side of the camp? It would have been quicker, and far less out-of-the-way to just cut straight through the tents. And yet here he was, taking the long way around. Hardly characteristic of a famously lazy individual.

  His face, while far from her and slightly inhibited from her view by the dark, was still visible enough to make her frown. It was blank, and yet contemplative. She had considered him deep in thought before, but now she would label him 'trapped' in thought. As though ideas were racing through his mind, and in order to survive their onslaught this mask of indifference was needed. To shield. To protect. His expression was concentrated, and yet hauntingly distracted. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, the very picture of ease, and yet he was stiff and hunched; incredibly tense. Sans, by her now incredibly shifted view, was not a simple monster at all.

  He was indescribably complicated.

  Conflicted.

  Muffet watched as the short fellow passed, her curiosity melting into concern. Sans was no business of hers; he wasn't even a friend, and hardly an acquaintance. But for a monster to look like that...for a monster to appear so...so ill at ease when he went through so much trouble to make himself look happy and carefree...

  It was...concerning to say the least.

  It was several more moments before the skeleton was out of sight, but even after Muffet found herself pondering over him. She almost wished she had kept her curiosity at bay. She lay back in her hammock, stroking her fingers over the back of her insectoid friend. It cooed softly, heard only by her ears as she settled back. She stared into the leafy umbrella of tree above her, and fell asleep to a wandering mind. In the end she determined that it was not her place to interfere. If she had noticed this oddity in Sans, than surely those who were closer to him had. Or would. Or...might?

  Either way, it was not her place.

  Surely the others would be there for him.

 


End file.
